just need a moment to vent here. i love my friends and family that view politics differently than me, but man, it is beyond crazy when people don't listen to facts. it's like some people have become so attached to their political party that they can't think for themselves. i believe there are a lot of flaws with the party system right now, and i am for sure no expert in politics, but the talking points and rhetoric are just out of control. i saw this image recently and it made me laugh and want to cry at the same time:

because people i love A LOT think like the guy on the left. they have such loyalty to their party. it's sad and it's absolute propaganda. i'm in no way saying the democratic party has it all together, but at least they are progressive in terms of women's rights, care for the poor, legal immigration, and gay rights. right now republicans are just on the wrong side of history. we can't move backwards- people are getting poorer while the rich are growing richer, women want control over their bodies, we are all immigrants!!, and gays are here to stay.

whether or not we are republicans, democrats, green partiers, or whatever, i think pretty much everyone can agree the government is no longer working for the people. i almost feel like we need to eliminate the party system to get people to think for themselves again.

another thing that drives me crazy is when people say "the founding fathers didn't believe in welfare or government programs, they only wanted government to defend the citizens". we are no longer a country of 2.5 million in 1776, we are a very different country of 300 million in 2012. we must evolve, find new solutions. we have problems now that we've never had before. taking old colonial solutions for modern day american issues just is not going to work.

i don't really know what needs to happen next. i hope we can continue to grow as a country together. and i hope fox news goes off the air. haha, which it won't. but seriously, don't watch the news on TV.